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The Lord of The Rings Online: Mines of Moria is a complete expansion and not just an attempt to cash in on an existing franchise. Turbine has worked hard to polish up their game and add a bunch of new content. The expansion not only continues the storyline from the original release, but it also adds two new player classes, 3 new zones, 22 new areas, and a truly impressive Legendary Weapon System.

Mines of Moria is a superlative expansion for an exemplary game. It's simply mandatory for current players of Lord of the Rings Online; a call-to-arms for lapsed players; and yet another reason to join up for those who haven't played. Set in the greatest fantasy setting of all time, The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria is a worthy adventure for anyone who enjoys a story-driven role-playing game, massively multiplayer or otherwise.

Moria is an evolutionary expansion in which Turbine has honed what it does best: storytelling, an enjoyable, constantly changing levelling curve, and atmosphere in big, rocky buckets. It won't convert anybody, nor win back anybody who grew tired of the semi-linearity of the LOTRO storyline - but if you're desperate to follow the trail of the Fellowship and see what exactly made the dwarves such moaners, or just continue your online Ringbearing, then Moria is an absolute joy. With Volume Two, Turbine has created a harmonious, tight and seamless addition to the LOTRO game-world, and one that will no doubt lead into another year's successful expansion.

In the end, Mines of Moria proves that while innovation is nice, it plays second fiddle to vision. The Lord of the Rings Online has never been about acquiring "phat loot" or farming raids or offering the most finely tuned PvP in the MMO space. Like the license it bears, LotRO is about the journey -- exploring Middle-earth and having exciting adventures within the world Tolkien created. Mines of Moria brilliantly enhances and refines this vision, taking the first and greatest dungeon crawl ever created and bringing it to life for thousands of players. What pushes it over the top into the realm of genius is that it takes a playground made for thousands and makes it feel like your own personal adventure.

Given the amount of fresh and brilliantly executed content Mines of Moria adds to the already-outstanding Lord of the Rings Online, most gamers are likely to find this expansion a satisfying addition to their gaming experience. The two new character classes, unfolding story chapters and myriad quests, and customizable epic weapons could easily keep a player coming back for months on end. For existing LotRO subscribers and Tolkien-loving gamers especially, this one should be a no-brainer.

The Mines of Moria builds on the strengths of the existing game by presenting loads of atmosphere, engaging quests and a meaningful story. To that extent, it won't surprise anyone who's already played the core game. What is surprising is how much better Turbine has managed to make it this time around. Moria is wonderfully realized from top to bottom and, though the entry quest requires a bit of a grind, it's a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The new legendary items add a lot of depth and definition to your character, and the two new classes fill a few holes in the current roster of characters. Turbine's done a great job here and has certainly raised our expectations for Volume Three.

Will it cause me to jump ship from World of Warcraft? Maybe not quite, but that's because I'd argue that it's difficult to compare the two. Certainly they're technically the same genre, but it would be like comparing Duke Nukem to Half-Life. Same concept, but one does it so much more intelligently with a much more detailed story. Ultimately, it all depends on your mood at the time and what you fancy playing. It would certainly be a tough call if I had to decide on only one. However, maybe my initial plan to spend the Winter in Northrend was a tad hasty, Middle-Earth has a certain something about it that I like...

The bowels of Middle-earth have no right to be this interesting to investigate, yet Moria's dim passages are a dungeon crawler's delight, surpassing even Shadows of Angmar's charming landscapes for sheer exploratory value. There isn't much for new players, though if you've avoided The Lord of the Rings Online until now, consider this: The expansion pack includes the original game, a value rare in MMOG expansions. Nevertheless, LOTRO veterans have the most to gain, thanks to awesome new areas, new story chapters to probe, and the giddy trepidation that comes with not knowing what ghoulish ogres might be lurking around the corner.

Unfortunately, the expansion's new areas caters exclusively to higher-leveled players. New players can jump in with the new classes, but for those who haven't played Lord of the Rings Online before and want to explore Moria, you'll have to put some time into the game. It's worth it, though. Lord of the Rings was already the second best MMO on the market in terms of quality, and Mines of Moria has done nothing to hurt that claim.

The only thing in Mines of Moria that wholly disappoints is the new "supreme master" tier of item crafting. Post-grandmaster crafting could have been awesome if Turbine had fully tied it to the legendary item system or the new reputation-for-recipes crafting guilds (which also seem bland); instead, we just get to make some more generic equipment. It really just feels like somebody got lazy. That pretty much sums up the rest of this expansion's weak spots -- a handful of cheap parts blemishing a product that's otherwise worth its weight in mithril.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria is a fun and more-than-significant increase in content for its players. Turbine has definitely done a great job of capturing the epic nature of Khazad-Dum, especially when it came to its world design and visual style. Veteran players who have been waiting for more places to explore in Middle-Earth should not pass up the opportunities found in Mines of Moria. However, the expansion does little to entice newcomers to join the world, considering the only new content they could experience from the start are the two new character classes. Mines of Moria is a must-buy expansion for veteran players of the original, but it will not provide a lot of immediate satisfaction for people thinking about picking up both it and the original for the first time.